The work, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, started in April and consists of repaving all of the connecting roads to the popular trails in Elkmont and creating formalized parking areas for the trailheads, as well as a new day use parking area at the Appalachian Clubhouse. The clubhouse is undergoing renovation to become a public day use rental facility in conjunction with the Elkmont Historic District planning project.
The Park is asking that visitors avoid making plans to hike the Elkmont trails during this period due to all the construction activity and the extremely limited available parking. Only a few parking spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Elkmont Campground for day and overnight trail use for the Little River Trail. Trail users must check in at the campground kiosk for instructions. A marked route through the campground to the Little River Trail has been established and visitors are advised to adhere to this route to avoid potential hazards from the ongoing road and parking area construction. There is no temporary parking available for the Jakes Creek Trail during the construction activity. Visitors are encouraged to take advantage of the other 750-plus miles of trails in the Park.
Trails impacted by the project include the Little River Trail, Cucumber Gap, Jakes Creek and the Meigs Mountain Trail.
Jeff
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